ZooChat Big Year 2014

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Reeding the posts from Chlidonias and Hix and even most UK members I don't know why I'm on the list but I saw the following yesterday.


Birds

41 Skylark
42 Shell Duck

Amphibians

1 Smooth Newt
2 Common frog
3 Common toad
4 Great Crested newt
 
dean said:
Reeding the posts from Chlidonias and Hix and even most UK members I don't know why I'm on the list but I saw the following yesterday.
Click to expand...
it's not a competition.... well it is, but there is no prize except everybody's own personal gratification of watching wildlife. You should only compete against oneself.

The best thing about a thread such as this is that the players are spread all over the world, so what is common for one causes envy for another.
 
Went back down to Barren Grounds today - again no Ground Parrot, and also dipped on the Southern Emuwren, but picked up a few more for the year and one Lifer.

Birds
161. Beautiful Firetail
162. Eastern Bristlebird
163. Golden Whistler
164. Bassian Thrush
165. Peregrine Falcon
166. Rufous Fantail
167. Eastern Spinebill


:p

Hix
 
Chlidonias said:
it's not a competition.... well it is, but there is no prize except everybody's own personal gratification of watching wildlife. You should only compete against oneself.

The best thing about a thread such as this is that the players are spread all over the world, so what is common for one causes envy for another.
Click to expand...

Agreed C. I don't really get envious especially of bird sightings as I prefer mammals and herps. Also i only list what I see day to day I don't go looking for them
The waterfowl I listed see are on a lake in one of my clients gardens, and I only saw them when I was asked to walk the dogs!
 
I went to the Central Park Zoo today and picked up some more species:

Birds
14) Rock Pigeon Columba livia
15) Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
16) Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris

Mammals
4) House Mouse Mus musculus

~Thylo:cool:
 
MANAS NATIONAL PARK (ASSAM, INDIA):

BIRDS:
291) White-browed wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis
292) Finn's weaver Ploceus megarhynchus
293) Scaly thrush Zoothera dauma
294) Blue (Indian) peafowl Pavo cristatus
295) Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis
296) Grey-winged blackbird Turdus boulboul
297) Yellow-browed warbler Phylloscopus inornatus
298) Black-throated thrush Turdus atrogularis

MAMMALS:
33) House mouse Mus musculus (in the town of Kharupetia en route to Manas)
34) Golden langur Trachypithecus geei
35) Gaur Bos gaurus
 
mstickmanp said:
130. Redhead
131. Cooper's Hawk
132. Western Sandpiper
133. Violet-green Swallow
Click to expand...

Went on a field trip with my local Audubon society to the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and to the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Orange County. Between the two places we saw around 80 species and 19 of those were new birds for me.

134. Blue-winged Teal
135. Brant
136. Surf Scoter
137. Red-breasted Merganser
138. Brown Pelican
139. Reddish Egret
140. Clapper Rail
141. Willet
142. Whimbrel
143. Marbled Godwit
144. Red Knot
145. Short-billed Dowitcher
146. Ring-billed Gull
147. Western Gull
148. Herring Gull
149. Caspian Tern
150. Forster's Tern
151. Royal Tern
152. Elegant Tern

The highlights for me were the Reddish Egret and Red Knot in breeding plumage.
 
the last of the Indian mammals (in Kolkata) and mammal number 220 on my life list:

36) Asian house shrew Suncus murinus
 
DesertRhino150 said:
Today I returned to the site where the water vole lives in Cambridge to see if I could get another view. It didn't show itself today but instead I got a phenomenal view of another riverbank mammal running around in full view at 3:30 in the afternoon in bright sunshine.

Mammals:
7. Eurasian water shrew

Slightly frustrating too, considering I spent the whole of last summer up to my neck in stinging nettles trying to find them as part of my dissertation research and didn't get a single glimpse.
Click to expand...

Over the weekend I have been able to add a number of new species:

Birds:
60. Great crested grebe

Mammals:
8. Brown rat
9. Reeve's muntjac deer
10. Common shrew
 
Birds
168. Black-faced Monarch
169. Pacific Golden Plover
170. Ruddy Turnstone
171. Spotted Pardalote

Reptiles
9. Green Tree Snake

:p

Hix
 
I'm finally able to recuperate from my trip to Idaho and Utah. I have every feeling that I probably had walking pneumonia the whole time I was there. So loads of fun! I was able to really rack up some good species while there. I increased my year list by 39 and my life list by 24.

160 American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus
161 Harlequin Duck - Histrionicus histrionicus
162 Pacific Wren - Troglodytes pacificus
163 Ross's Goose - Chen rossii
164 Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula
165 Rough-legged Hawk - Buteo lagopus
166 Cinnamon Teal - Anas cyanoptera
167 Clark's Grebe - Aechmophorus clarkii
168 American Avocet - Recurvirostra americana
169 Chukar - Alectoris chukar
170 Pine Grosbeak - Pinicola enucleator
171 Cassin's Finch - Haemorhous cassinii
 
Ituri said:
Yesterday, a Harlequin Duck was reported swimming in the rapids of the Payette River just a little north of town. So this morning, I decided to chase after it. The duck was sitting on a rock in the exact spot described. I sat and watched it for a while as it dove into the swift current and swam around. It was a first year male and it is presumed he overwintered here. Harlequin Ducks normally breed along the Lochsa River further north in Idaho, so having one this far south was a special occurrence. Getting back in my car, I had descovered that I had left the key on but turned the engine off! Luckily I quickly flagged down a motorist passing by and was able to jump start my engine so that I could get back to town. Awesome bird, with a tiny bit of adventure thrown into the mix.

99 Harlequin Duck
Click to expand...

So here's what I accomplished while showing jbnbsn99 around the intermountain west. Day one we headed out to the Snake River Birds of Prey area to get desert and canyon birds. Only netted one year bird myself, along with a year mammal and a life reptile.

100 Rock Wren

6 Piute Ground Squirrel
7 Black-tailed Jackrabbit
8 Yellow-bellied Marmot

3 Side-blotched Lizard

Day two was Boise area hotspots. I was able to find jbnbsn99 a few good lifers (not quite as many as day 1) and I even picked up a few year birds. The highlight was ending the birding day with two pairs of Western Screech-Owls singing from opposite street corners.

101 Yellow-headed Blackbird
102 Horned Grebe
103 Western Screech-Owl

Day 3 we headed up into the mountains to get high elevation birds. This was the only day I got a life bird, along with some good mammal sightings.

104 Hairy Woodpecker
105 White-headed Woodpecker
106 Steller's Jay
107 White-breasted Nuthatch
108 Pine Siskin
109 Western Bluebird

9 White-tailed Deer
10 Wapiti

Day 4 was slower, but we went up to chase the Harlequin Duck I had seen earlier in the week. Success! Afterwards we went to watch the thousands of geese that gather at the snake river this time of year. Mostly snow with a sprinkling of Ross's and greater white-fronted thrown in.

11 Pacific Wren
12 Ross's Goose

Day 5 we headed to Salt Lake and pretty much birded the whole way down. The highlight was thousands of Tundra Swans at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

112 Common Grackle
113 Great-tailed Grackle
114 Cinnamon Teal
115 Canvasback
116 Eared Grebe
117 Clark's Grebe
118 American Avocet
119 Northern Mockingbird
120 Chukar

11 American Bison
Day 6 we headed up into the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City. Lots of skiiers and relatively few birds but we did get a few.

121 Pine Grosbeak
122 Cassin's Finch

12 American Red Squirrel

After dropping jbnbsn99 off at the airport I did a little birding on my way home. Bird finding was largely unsuccessful due to horrendous winds and rain but I did get a couple year mammals.

13 Common Muskrat
14 Mountain Cottontail

Phew, I'm exhausted!
 
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Chlidonias said:
here's a photo I took yesterday (but in India, not Australia): http://www.zoochat.com/737/asian-koel-eudynamys-scolopaceus-358298/

Koels are really tricky. I hear them calling all day long all over Asia, even in the middle of the cities, but I can hardly ever find them. They are good ventriloquists I think. Also the males look really like crows if you're not familiar with them -- look for the bright red eye.
Click to expand...

I did see them in Singapore, they were in the palms along the road my hotel was on, but I only saw them very briefly when they flew between them, and not long enough to get a photo of what they were. I did get photos of wild ones at Jurong Bird Park though.
 
Birds
172. Brown Gerygone
173. Ruddy Turnstone
174. Red-necked Stint

:p

Hix
 
Back home, I did a little birding after work today.

172 Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
173 Long-billed Dowitcher - Limnodromus scolopaceus
174 Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Stelgidopteryx serripennis
175 Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
176 Cliff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Looks like Hix and I are keeping neck and neck.
 
A few additions from Scotland/Northern England over the last few days. Tried and failed on Crested Tit - and the list is nothing compared to robmv's! - but did get one nice lifer:

78. Eurasian Curlew - Numenius arquata
79. Western Marsh Harrier - Circus aeruginosus
80. Long-tailed Duck - Clangula hyemalis
81. Tawny Owl - Strix aluco
82. Snow Bunting - Plectrophenax nivalis
83. Eurasian Siskin - Spinus spinus
84. Whooper Swan - Cygnus cygnus
85. Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis
86. Goosander (Common Merganser) - Mergus merganser


Quiet trip on the mammal front, but do get to start a new list:

Amphibians
1. Common Toad - Bufo bufo


:)
 
Ituri said:
So here's what I accomplished while showing jbnbsn99 around the intermountain west. Day one we headed out to the Snake River Birds of Prey area to get desert and canyon birds. Only netted one year bird myself, along with a year mammal and a life reptile.

100 Rock Wren

6 Piute Ground Squirrel
7 Black-tailed Jackrabbit
8 Yellow-bellied Marmot

3 Side-blotched Lizard

Day two was Boise area hotspots. I was able to find jbnbsn99 a few good lifers (not quite as many as day 1) and I even picked up a few year birds. The highlight was ending the birding day with two pairs of Western Screech-Owls singing from opposite street corners.

101 Yellow-headed Blackbird
102 Horned Grebe
103 Western Screech-Owl

Day 3 we headed up into the mountains to get high elevation birds. This was the only day I got a life bird, along with some good mammal sightings.

104 Hairy Woodpecker
105 White-headed Woodpecker
106 Steller's Jay
107 White-breasted Nuthatch
108 Pine Siskin
109 Western Bluebird

9 White-tailed Deer
10 Wapiti

Day 4 was slower, but we went up to chase the Harlequin Duck I had seen earlier in the week. Success! Afterwards we went to watch the thousands of geese that gather at the snake river this time of year. Mostly snow with a sprinkling of Ross's and greater white-fronted thrown in.

11 Pacific Wren
12 Ross's Goose

Day 5 we headed to Salt Lake and pretty much birded the whole way down. The highlight was thousands of Tundra Swans at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

112 Common Grackle
113 Great-tailed Grackle
114 Cinnamon Teal
115 Canvasback
116 Eared Grebe
117 Clark's Grebe
118 American Avocet
119 Northern Mockingbird
120 Chukar

11 American Bison
Day 6 we headed up into the Wasatch Mountains above Salt Lake City. Lots of skiiers and relatively few birds but we did get a few.

121 Pine Grosbeak
122 Cassin's Finch

12 American Red Squirrel

After dropping jbnbsn99 off at the airport I did a little birding on my way home. Bird finding was largely unsuccessful due to horrendous winds and rain but I did get a couple year mammals.

13 Common Muskrat
14 Mountain Cottontail

Phew, I'm exhausted!
Click to expand...

Picked up a few more birds today exploring the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area.

123 Sagebrush Sparrow
124 Greater Scaup
125 Ruddy Duck
126 Long-billed Curlew
 
Hix said:
Birds
172. Brown Gerygone
173. Ruddy Turnstone
174. Red-necked Stint

:p

Hix
Click to expand...

Oops - I put Ruddy Turnstone in at two different places - 170 & 173.

Correction:
Birds
172. Brown Gerygone
173. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
174. Red-necked Stint


I think I may have doubled up somewhere else aswell.

:p

Hix
 
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